All 3 Uses of
perish
in
Utopia, by Thomas More
- among whom, may I perish, if I see anything that looks either like justice or equity;†
perish = die, be destroyed, or cease to exist
- Men's fears, solicitudes, cares, labours, and watchings would all perish in the same moment with the value of money; even poverty itself, for the relief of which money seems most necessary, would fall.†
*
- and yet if, at the end of that year, a survey was made of the granaries of all the rich men that have hoarded up the corn, it would be found that there was enough among them to have prevented all that consumption of men that perished in misery;†
perished = died, was destroyed, or ceased to exist
Definition:
to die -- especially in an unnatural way
or:
to be destroyed or cease to exist
or:
to be destroyed or cease to exist
You may encounter an informal expression, "Perish the thought." It means that the speaker hopes the thought will cease to exist and the thing it represents will never happen.